College Essay Overview

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College Essay Overview

Day 2: Warm-up & Brainstorming

I call this part “vulnerability training,” because I find it’s more specific than “warm-up exercise." Also, “warm-up exercises" are expendable, while I believe these exercises are essential.

A Quick Word on Vulnerability:

Why am I asking you to be vulnerable? A few reasons:

Vulnerability is one (of four) qualities of an excellent personal statement (in fact, it’s the “personal” part). I’ll share the other three qualities as we go…

Vulnerability is a great life-skill to learn, and

It’s one you can get better at as you practice.

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Topic Brainstorming Exercises

“If you really knew me...”

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Essence Objects

I want you to imagine a box.

In this box is a set of objects.

Imagine that each one is one of your essence objects.

What do I mean?

Each object represents one of your fundamental qualities.

Thus, each object is more than just an object.

For example, in my essence object box I would place a green pen.

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Why a green pen? I always carry a green pen because I grade all my students' essays in green. Why green? Because when a student gets an essay back and it's covered in red marks it can tend to look bloody, like a battlefield. But if a student gets an essay back that's covered in green it looks verdant. Also, red means "stop" (like a stoplight), but green says "keep going." And that's the essence I want to communicate to my students: keep going. The green pen in my essence object box is more than a green pen.

I would also place in my essence box a well-worn North Carolina Tarheel blue and white basketball. Why? I came home from the hospital wearing Carolina Blue, so I've been a Carolina fan, almost literally, since birth. I've spent more time on a basketball court than virtually anywhere else (which is why the ball is well-worn), and basketball also represents my connection with my dad: when I was a kid we’d watch Carolina games together and play basketball in the backyard for hours. This basketball is more than a basketball.

I would also have the blue Bible with my name etched on it in gold lettering that my grandma gave me when I was seven. (See how specific I’m getting?) For me, this particular Bible represents my having been raised in the Presbyterian Church. And my parents were missionaries, so you could imagine a lot of who I am today has been shaped by the Sunday morning services we attended at Weaverville Presbyterian Church, to which I would always carry my blue Bible. This Bible is more than a Bible.

You get the idea.

I want you to make a list of 20 objects. (Don’t complain—you are infinitely complex and creative and could come up with a thousand—I’m asking for just 20.)

Important: Don't write what the objects mean to you as I have just done. I just want you to write the objects. So my list would begin like this:

green Precise v5 extra fine rolling ball pen

worn-down, rubber North Carolina basketball

blue Bible with my name stitched on it in gold lettering

bbq sauce

annotated copy of The Brothers Karamazov

friendship bracelet

black and white composition notebook

Amelie DVD

Evanston Hockey t-shirt

…You get the idea.

Just write the objects with a couple details that describe each, no commentary needed yet.

If it helps, put on some music. Let your mind wander.

Helpful Questions to Ask

What’s something you never leave home without?

What’s a snack you crave?

A food that reminds you of your family?

A food that reminds you of home?

A tradition that reminds you of home?

What else reminds you of home?

An object that represents your best friend?

An object that represents your father? Your mother?

Your grandparents, or lack thereof?

Something you loved and lost?

A toy you used to play with as a kid?

Something that makes you laugh?

A book you love? Best movie ever?

Favorite guilty pleasure movie?

An object that represents something abstract that you broke (a heart, a promise)?

An object that represents a regret?

A favorite gift you received? A favorite gift you gave?

An object that represents a secret? (Don’t worry, this stays between us.)

Something about you no one else knows?

A dream?

Something you stole?

Something you found?

Something that makes you feel safe?

The worst thing that ever happened to you?

The best thing?

The logo on your imaginary business card?

The image you’d like carved into your tombstone?

An object that represents: a smell you love, a smell you hate, a taste you love, a taste you hate, the sweetest sound in the world?

The coolest thing about science?

Something you forgot?

Something old? Something new? Something borrowed? Something blue?

An accident?

Best thing you ever found in the street?

Best money you ever spent?

Your life lie? Your favorite object?

Something from another country?

Your favorite sentence?

You’d cry if you lost this?

An object that represents someone you’d like to know more about?

Something you’ll never get rid of?

A bad habit?

A perfect moment?

A time you laughed so hard you cried?

A time you cried so hard you laughed?

An image you’ll never forget?

What they’d put in the museum of your life?

A tattoo?

The cover image on your first self-titled album?

Three objects from your room?

A near-death experience?

A moment when you were so embarrassed you wanted to disappear?

Recurring dream?

Worst (actual) nightmare?

When were you most afraid?

If you had a clone, what would you have the clone do?

First love?

A time you were speechless?

Heaven?

Hell?

The moment you left childhood behind?

A quotation you love?

Your favorite photo?

Once You Have Your List

Survey your list. Which essences are missing? Is every aspect of you there (that you can think of)? Think more abstractly. Think of qualities not yet represented on the list. How could you phrase those qualities in terms of objects? For example, if you keep lists, perhaps a post-it note? Are you easily angered (lighter fluid)? Good at lots of things (a Swiss Army Knife)? Or sharp (an Exacto knife)?

Write down three more objects.

Share Your List (Optional).

Sometimes it helps to talk your list over with a partner. Why? Because sometimes the questions a partner might ask will help you clarify your own objects or how they might find their way into your essay.

Values Exercise

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Narrative Brainstorming

Feelings & Needs Exercise

Montage Brainstorming

Five Things Exercise

The “Laptop Stickers” essay you read employs Montage Structure. If you answered “no” to either feeling like you have faced challenges or wanting to write about them, this structure will likely work well for you.

And by the way, isn’t it nice to know that you don’t have to have experienced extraordinary challenges to write a great college essay? (See essay below.)

To learn how to develop the content for a montage, we’ll work through a simple but effective exercise.

(Note: You can also use the

5 Things Exercise⁠

to brainstorm content if you’re finding yourself (or your students) needing more structure.)

Here are some:

Tips for Finding a Good Thematic Thread

Visual threads are easier to write. Storytelling is a visual medium. Use a lens that will help conjure images in the reader’s mind. I’ve had too many students try to write “soundtrack” or “mix-tape” essays in which their favorite songs provide the soundtrack for their lives. The problem with writing this type of essay, however, is that the reader can’t hear the music (and often doesn’t know or have the same emotional connection to the songs referenced). So you can use more abstract things (like Waves, or Home), but those will often take more time to write well.

Write what you know. Know how to cook? Use food. Play chess? Use that! Use your Essence Objects list as a starting point for ideas.

Look for thematic threads that are “elastic”—that allow you to connect a bunch of sides of yourself. Use a metaphor, in other words, that will allow you to discuss several different aspects of who you are.

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Miscellaneous Vulnerability Brainstorming

Therapeutic Questions

Use the questions linked below to help you figure out what topic(s) you might want to explore.

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161 Powerful Questions to Explore Values, Ideas, & Beliefs - mind remake project (Updated 7/16/23) 161 open-ended questions to explore values, ideas, and beliefs. A tool for group therapy, journaling, or to use as an icebreaker. mindremakeproject.org⁠

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My 20 Favorite Questions to Ask Clients When I was going through the certification process to become a life coach, I was encouraged to keep a list handy of my favorite questions. www.decideyourlegacy.com⁠

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The New York Times “The 36 Questions That Lead to Love”

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Empathy Interview Resources

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(The PDF below is mostly a resource for me, Ms. Hessler, for some stuff I’m scheming on for next year, but you are welcome to comb through it if you would like.)

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